Caption: Bearing the evidence of a violent collision the day prior, CN HR616 2105 is pictured situated beside Mile 4 of the Strathroy Subdivision at CN Hyde Park in London, Ontario. So the story goes, during the early morning hours of February 16, 1995, the unit was on the point of eastbound train 272, when it rear-ended the tail-end of standing train 308 at Hyde Park. In turn, the force of the impact pushed train 308 into the rear of train 223, which was another standing freight that was stopped ahead of it. The force of the collision was enough to derail both 2105 and second unit, LMSX C40-8 723. Fortunately, all the crews involved escaped with non-life-threatening injuries, however the crew of 272 did receive injures due to the accident. Both the locomotives on 272 suffered heavy damage, with 2105 bearing the worst of it.
We had visited the wreck scene the following day after the Strathroy Subdivision had been re-opened for traffic. The remains of the damaged freight cars and 2105 were situated beside the line and against an adjoining field. We took some photos from the Hyde Park Road overpass, then a friend and I as well as another London area railfan walked into the field to photograph 2105. Its heavily damaged frame was situated pushed up against a fence line while in the background, big cranes were preparing to attach to 2105 and would work through the evening to re-rail the big HR616.
In the time following the derailment, the LMSX lessor would go on to be repaired, however 2105 was subsequently retired on October 26, 1995 after it was determined the damage was too extensive and it would be too costly to repair the aging unit. The Transportation Safety Board later established that due to crew fatigue, the locomotive engineer of train 272 went by a restrictive signal west of Hyde Park and was unable to stop his train as it approached stopped 308’s tail-end. Also, the fields where we were to take the photos of 2105 are now long gone and are filled with housing developments.